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Assessment of food safety management systems is a verification activity with the objective of evaluating the compliance with set standards. While it cannot be relied upon for ensuring safety, it is important for verifying that stakeholders comply with safety and regulatory requirements. Assessment can be carried out by authorities or by the private sector itself. It can be comprehensive and cover the assessment of the entire food safety management system, or be partial and limited to some elements of the food safety management system, operations or products. This will depend on the purpose of the assessment. The validity of the assessment depends on a number of factors, in particular the competence of assessors. The frequency and scope must be based on the level of risk presented by the operation. Among different factors, the previous records of compliance are important criteria to be considered.

The earliest food laws in the United States, dating from the 1600s to 1800s, were designed to combat economic deception and to protect American exports. The Food and Drugs Act and the Federal Meat Inspection Act, both passed in 1906, were the first federal food laws to protect American consumers. The 1938 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act regulated non-meat and poultry products until passage in 2010 of the Food Safety Modernization Act. The meat industry is regulated largely by the 1906 Federal Meat Inspection Act. European food law has been influenced by the formation of the European Economic Community and later the European Union. Food safety laws in the latter half of the twentieth century focused on developing a common market, but with the introduction of the General Food Law in 2002, the focus shifted to assuring high levels of food safety. The adoption of the Food Hygiene I and II principles in 2004 completed the EU food law.

With the development of the market economy, people’s income is increasing, and food health is becoming more and more important. Especially in recent years, the frequent occurrence of food safety accidents has exacerbated people’s attention to food safety. The inspection for food safety is mainly done by manpower, which is not only inefficient, but also has disadvantages such as long inspection cycle and one-sided inspection data. With the development of Internet information technology, cloud computing, the Internet of Things and other emerging technologies have entered the market. The above technologies are combined by big data, which can effectively improve the effectiveness of food safety monitoring, and not only can provide detailed data for regulatory authorities, but also provide comprehensive data services to manufacturers, consumers, and third-party supervisors. With the in-depth development and maturity of related technologies, this model will definitely become a major development trend in the future. This study explores the risk characteristics of food safety from the perspective of big data through the study of big data related theories, and creates a food safety risk analysis and early warning framework based on operational data sources and big data technology as the core, so as to provides theoretical basis for applied research of relevant field in the future.

Food Factors that positively contributes to Food Safety is a major issue today across the World. Additives that are added to Processed Foods and other factors have to have an attachment of Quality and Safety aspect which has to be beyond the doubt of any consumer. The problem of safety does not stem only from the small amount of contamination that may occur but sometimes it also has a huge amount of responsibility in the Chain as it moves across from Rural to Urban with a clear pathway of its destination into Hyper markets especially when one looks at Nutraceuticals. This is where the role of Nutrigenomics will help a lot in tomorrow's Food Safety with Food factors which are one of the critical issues for long term benefit from especially Traditional and Ethnic Foods with a holistic approach. This has to be addressed with the clear backdrop of culture and even eating habits and the Biodiversity and the habitat balance from a Holistic approach. Are we geared to this Challenge in the immediate Near Future considering Food Factors being taken into the ambit of Food Safety?

Food integrity is a major global public issue. China's food industry has demonstrated a sustained growth trend since the 1980s; however, the years between 1980 and 2012 witnessed a worrisome food integrity situation. Thankfully, in recent years, the situation is improving after the Chinese government's implementation of food safety regulations. In order to understand the current status of food integrity in China, this study analyzes the national food spot check data in 2016. The data covers almost all kinds of food in the market, and it reveals that overuse of food additives, microbial contamination and subpar food quality indicators are the top three factors limiting food integrity. Additionally, the paper discusses other challenges that affect food integrity in China, and we make suggestions for improving food integrity.

Novel foods derived from genome-editing techniques call for an updated risk analysis of the use of plant produced by genome editing, especially in China. As a developing country with the largest population and limited arable land, China has invested intensively in genetically modified (GM) crops to improve agricultural productivity, which is aimed to secure food security and safety, the top priority for China. China has recently made great progress in genome-editing technology due to its powerful applications in the field of crop improvement such as rice and wheat. To ensure food safety and agricultural commodity trade, China has developed a regulatory system for the risk assessment and management of GM products, and the discussion on how to regulate products derived from genome-editing technology have also been initiated. A working group within National Biosafety Committee was established to provide technical assistance on risk assessment of new techniques including genome-editing. As GMO safety remains a public concern in China, genome-editing technology is in many ways even more precise and predictable than GM. From that perspective, genome-editing technology may be accepted by the public more easily with active communication with broad stakeholders, such as government, consumer, media, industry and others. This article reviews current developments in genome-editing technology and its applications in plant in China, regulatory status of genome editing-derived products around the world, and risk analysis framework for genome-editing derived food in China.

Food safety challenges are a global concern especially in emerging economies, which are in the midst of developmental changes. The challenges are directly or indirectly related to the behaviour and decision-making of personnel, and to an organisation's food safety culture. This study evaluated the prevailing food safety culture in three Zimbabwean dairy companies of different size (multinational, large and medium) using a comprehensive mixed-methods approach. Four key elements were assessed, namely enabling conditions, employee characteristics, actual behaviour and microbial safety performance. Card-aided interviews provided data on enabling conditions, and questionnaires and storytelling on employee characteristics. Observations and microbial analysis assessed actual behaviour and microbial safety performance, respectively. The multinational company demonstrated a more proactive food safety culture compared to the other companies, which operated at an active level as exhibited by multiple inconsistencies in the enabling conditions and compliance behaviour. The large company had a moderate microbial safety performance even though it operated in a potentially risky situation, which could have been mitigated by the food safety management system. The medium-sized company had a poor microbial safety performance likely related to noncompliance with sanitation requirements, negative attitudes towards personal hygiene and an ambivalent attitude towards sanitation. Our study demonstrated the ability of the mixed-methods approach to assess and distinguish an organisation's prevailing food safety culture into identified classification levels (reactive, active, proactive). Specifically, storytelling elicited respondents to share stories, which reflected the food safety and hygiene control attitudes.

Safety Management Systems continue to be a prevalent research topic nowadays, which has gone from being an incipient construct to an essential factor in new currents of business management. Organizations have perceived the importance of organizing their techniques and resources under a Safety Management System with models similar to other certification systems such as the ISO 9000 family of standards. This research is aimed at knowing the conditions that accelerate the adoption of a Safety Management System, either under the principles, beliefs and values of Total Quality Management or as a consequence of the implementation and application of essential safety management techniques, namely, risk assessment processes, assumption of safety responsibilities and safety training. It has been proven that companies operating in Total Quality Management environments are more likely to adopt a Safety Management System than those which apply key safety management practices in isolation. Results show the potential of Total Quality Management to promote a Safety Management System by itself, even in the absence of proven core practices. The results are robust and suggest maintaining principles of the quality paradigm when pursuing more ambitious models based on total management such as Total Safety Management.

The Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) is a scientific panel of the European Food Safety Authority that provides independent advice and performs risk assessment (RA) on biological hazards in the food and feed chain. The scientific outputs carried out during 2012–2016, covering a wide range of biological hazards for food safety, are presented in this review. The RA methodology applied by BIOHAZ Panel has evolved overtime, and varies from structured qualitative RA to the application of quantitative microbiological RA whenever possible and appropriate. Some of the future challenges envisaged include the new risks due to changes in food consumption and habits, the use of molecular typing methods for RA and the improvement in methodology via enhanced data collection for RA and integration of new methodologies.

Each year millions of children are enrolled in center-based childcare. Childcare employees are tasked with handling over half the children’s weekly meals. Proper food handling practices are crucial in mitigating this high-risk population’s risk of foodborne illness. The purpose of this study was to identify childcare food handling employees’ (n = 278) perceived barriers and motivators to follow recommended food safety practices. Six important barriers and 14 key motivators to following recommended food safety practices were identified. Important barriers pertained to time restraints, workloads, and lack of understanding of the importance of following proper food safety practices. Key motivators were focused on children’s safety, available supplies, communication, and food safety training/information. Employee and facility characteristics were shown to influence perceived importance of barriers and motivators to following food safety practices. Childcare directors should review scheduling and job duties of employees as the majority of identified barriers focused on “work pace” and “time restraints.” Directors should also attempt to increase food safety communication through practical situational training, written food safety policies, and use of food safety signage to increase understanding of the importance of proper food safety practices. Ensuring proper supplies are available is necessary.

Food safety concerns have existed for a long time, as millions of people across the globe suffer from food borne disease every year. Contamination of food owing to limited knowledge of food safety practices primarily increases the risk of food borne illnesses. In the present study, quantitative research was carried out to gauge the level of food safety knowledge amongst people living in Ireland. A total of 1069 participants from all over the Republic of Ireland contributed to the survey (of which 821 were included in this research). Results showed that the residents of Ireland overall had an average level on knowledge of food safety practices (67.0% passing rate). They had an average level of knowledge in food storage (52.8% passing rate), usage and maintenance of the kitchen facilities (59.0% passing rate), and personal hygiene (61.0% passing rate). Conversely, they had a critically low level of knowledge in food handling (10.8% passing rate) and food poisoning (20.1% passing rate). The results of the present study also showed that, the level of knowledge of food safety practices varies amongst the residents based upon their gender, age, place of residence, education level, and marital status, while no significant difference in the knowledge level was observed based upon their per capita income. The study thus, highlights that there is scope for improvement for the residents to advance their knowledge of food safety practices. There- fore, it can be recommended that researchers, educators, food safety communicators, and the media can engage in educating the population, to help the residents advance their food safety knowledge to safer food practices.

In 2000, the Consumer Goods Forum established the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) to increase the safety of the world's food supply and to harmonize food safety regulations worldwide. In 2013, a university research team in conjunction with Diversey Consulting (Sealed Air), the Consumer Goods Forum, and officers of GFSI solicited input from more than 15,000 GFSI-certified food producers worldwide to determine whether GFSI certification had lived up to these expectations. A total of 828 usable questionnaires were analyzed, representing about 2,300 food manufacturing facilities and food suppliers in 21 countries, mainly across Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America. Nearly 90% of these certified suppliers perceived GFSI as being beneficial for addressing their food safety concerns, and respondents were eight times more likely to repeat the certification process knowing what it entailed. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of these food manufacturers would choose to go through the certification process again even if certification were not required by one of their current retail customers. Important drivers for becoming GFSI certified included continuing to do business with an existing customer, starting to do business with new customer, reducing the number of third-party food safety audits, and continuing improvement of their food safety program. Although 50% or fewer respondents stated that they saw actual increases in sales, customers, suppliers, or employees, significantly more companies agreed than disagreed that there was an increase in these key performance indicators in the year following GFSI certification. A majority of respondents (81%) agreed that there was a substantial investment in staff time since certification, and 50% agreed there was a significant capital investment. This survey is the largest and most representative of global food manufacturers conducted to date.

The holistic concept of the “farm to fork” approach to food safety embraces all elements which may have an impact on the safety of food at every stage of the food chain. Applying this approach means that food safety is not solely a matter of end-product testing or inspection in primary production, the processing plant or in the market, but also emphasizes the need for interaction between all participants in the entire food chain, also taking into consideration all possible aspects that might have an impact on food safety, such as climate change, demographics and the economy. This approach requires interdisciplinary cooperation and the effective communication of all relevant information throughout the food chain. In this paper, holistic approaches for food safety and food security management, such as the “One Health” concept, bioeconomy and omics technologies, are discussed.JEL Codes: Q56, L66, Q18, I15

The Chinese government faces a great challenge to safeguard the safety of the food supply chain due to the significant fragmentation of producers and weak institutional resources to monitor and enforce safety standards. Food safety in China has received escalating attention since the 2008 milk scandal. Mainly due to safety concerns, Chinese farmers adopt two separate production systems for the market and self-consumption, and thus, the so-called “One Farm Household, Two Production Systems” (OFH-TPS) has gained popularity in the recent years. This study provides a theoretical framework to examine how product inspections and certifications affect the OFH-TPS adoption by mitigating information asymmetry of product quality. It also shows that both food safety concerns and cost savings are important factors for famers' decision on the adoption. The empirical analysis finds that product inspections conducted by firms, agricultural cooperatives, and farmers curb the OFH-TPS adoption, whereas government inspections have no statistically significant effect. Farmers who grow “Green Food” are less likely but organic farmers are more likely to adopt the OFH-TPS. We also find that pesticide use training curbs the OFH-TPS adoption, and the perceived adverse effects of pesticide use to the environment and human health have no statistical effect. Farmers who use highly toxic or banned pesticides and/or who perceive food safety at the local markets is poor are more likely to adopt the OFH-TPS. This study provides rich policy implications. To safeguard food safety, it is critical to engage the private sector for co-regulation, improve the efficacy of government inspections, and promote education on pesticide use to both farmers as well as retailers of pesticides.

There is increasing interest in the links between food safety and nutrition. Animal-source foods contribute to fulfilling important micronutrient requirements by supplying vitamin B12, high quality protein, iron, zinc, vitamin A of high bioavailability, riboflavin and calcium. However, high meat and dairy consumption may raise health concerns related to the risk of non-communicable diseases and food safety, especially if upscaling of livestock and fish value chains does not follow recommended hygiene and biosecurity practices. A recent report by the World Health Organisation indicates that food-borne diseases from animal-source foods constitutes an important health burden worldwide. Only a few studies explore nutrition outcomes and food-borne diseases simultaneously and integrative approaches may be difficult due to limited understanding of disciplinary paradigms. Here we propose a conceptual approach to integrate food safety and nutrition assessments in livestock and fish value chains combining knowledge from food sciences, public health, nutrition and economics. It offers six analytical dimensions with explanations of key disciplinary paradigms and methodological characteristics that can cause pitfalls for integration and provides recommendations for joint assessments. The insights arising from this work on methodology for interdisciplinary research can assist those who engage in collaboration to integrate food safety and nutrition research in livestock and fish value chains.

Food safety and quality audits are used widely in the food industry for various reasons (to evaluate management systems, obtain certifications to certain food safety and quality standards, assess the condition of premises and products, confirm legal compliance, and so on). Nowadays, the increased interest of consumers on food safety and quality matters, triggered mainly by recent food scandals, has enabled the public and private food sectors to develop a variety of food safety and quality standards. These standards have both advantages and disadvantages and their effectiveness depends on several factors such as the competency and skills of auditors and the standard used in each case. Although the industry continuously invests in developing and improving these systems, the number of foodborne outbreaks per year appears to be quite stable in both Europe and the United States. This may be an indication that additional measures and techniques or a different approach would be required to further improve the effectiveness of the food safety and quality management systems. This article examines the role of audits and food safety and quality assessment systems in the food industry, presenting the results of several studies and briefly describing the main food safety and quality standards currently used in Europe (with particular emphasis on the United Kingdom and Greece), the U.S., Australia–New Zealand, and Asia.

Do resources available to regulatory agencies matter for public perceptions of social risks? In this paper we use the case of food safety in China to empirically examine the relationship between regulatory resources and risk concerns. The multilevel model estimates suggest that neither regulatory revenue nor personnel is significantly related to public concerns over food safety. There is also no significant interaction effect between regulatory resources and food scandals. Despite the fact that sufficient fiscal revenue and manpower are the prerequisites of effective food safety regulation, they do not elicit more favorable public perceptions. These are the two missing links leading to the insignificant effect of regulatory resource inputs. First, ineffective distribution and deployment of resources and the lack of external participation retard the growth of regulatory capacity. Second, underinvestment in risk communication and the amplification effect of risks undermine regulatory legitimacy. We discuss the theoretical and policy implications of the results, and conclude with research limitations and suggestions for future research.

It has been two years since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the Preventive Controls for Human Foods regulation. The regulation mandates that food, beverage, and ingredient processors adopt a risk-based approach to ensuring food safety. The preventive controls regulation includes updated Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and mandates a risk-based approach to developing, documenting, implementing, and maintaining a food safety plan. In this column Stier discusses how food safety risk can be assessed for all ingredients, raw materials, packaging, and finished products, as well as the FDA role in designating high-risk foods and recordkeeping requirements.

Purpose Food safety in emerging and developing regions is receiving increased attention from economists, researchers and policymakers. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the literature on the economics of food safety in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Of interest are studies exploring consumer demand and producer behavior regarding food safety. Particular attention is given to areas in need of additional research. The studies’ common implications for future research are discussed. Design/methodology/approach Two English language searches were conducted in the summer of 2013 to identify relevant studies on the economics of food safety, one each in Google Scholar and Web of Science. The authors carefully reviewed the abstracts of these studies for content, and select papers were identified that capture overarching themes found in the literature. Findings are presented by region. Findings Consumers in developing countries will become increasingly aware of food safety issues as urbanization proceeds and incomes continue to rise at robust rates. However, assuring food safety in modernizing food systems involves significant costs, and current incomes in developing SSA are far lower than in Asia. The authors find that overall consumer awareness of food safety problems in SSA is low relative to Asia. Moreover, knowledge of producer behavior and consumer demand for food safety in developing countries is very limited. Research limitations/implications Limitations include a lack of information available on domestic food safety issues and overall knowledge of how food safety affects developing agrifood systems. Originality/value The findings from this review contribute to a better understanding of the economics of food safety in emerging and developing regions.

We examined the cross-national adoption of six major private food safety standards, focusing on the role of certifiers and international trade. Results show that the number of certification bodies existing in the domestic country, food exports, and the proportion of food exports to North America had positive effects on a country's adoption of food safety standards. Distance leads to product differentiation for the standards and therefore disadvantages developing countries in Africa and Asia for adopting the standards, which are all based in the United States or Europe. Providing these countries with better access to certifiers can alleviate this geographic disadvantage.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the purpose of food safety auditing, effectiveness in maintaining and improving standards of food safety and ways to improve the process. Design/methodology/approach Using a grounded approach semi-structured interviews were held with actors with experience of food safety auditing. The aims and objectives being to obtain their viewpoints drawn from their experience. Findings The purpose of food safety audits should be regarded as one of continuous improvement rather than a single snapshot or policing exercise. Audits in terms of cost can be excessive because of the often high number and frequency of them. Costs can be reduced and food safety standards maintained if the number and frequency of audits is determined by the level of hazard and risk that a product or a process presents. Effectiveness of audits can also be improved if they are unannounced to make businesses “audit ready” at all times. It is also contended that unannounced audits are not applicable in all circumstances as they can increase costs by the need to maintain a group of personnel that are always available for audits. Research limitations/implications The research is limited by the scope and number of topics that were addressed in relation to the main subject. Originality/value The research value points to a need to review and better manage the audit process by risk assessing the number, frequency and type of audit a food business is subject to without lowering standards.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess elements of food safety management and food safety culture within a prominent South African entertainment, hotel and food service complex. Design/methodology/approach In this paper a qualitative case study approach was used. Following a comprehensive literature review, based on factors known to be important in developing a food safety culture, in combination with national and international food safety standards, an interview guide was constructed and utilised in a series of semi-structured interviews. The interviewees represented different management levels involved in food delivery but did not include board level managers. Findings Many of the factors considered important in good food safety management, including the presence of a formal food safety policy and the creation and maintenance of a positive food safety culture, were absent. Although a formal system of internal hygiene auditing existed and food safety training was provided to food handlers they were not integrated into a comprehensive approach to food safety management. Food safety leadership, communication and support were considered deficient with little motivation for staff to practise good hygiene. Originality/value Food safety culture is increasingly recognised as a contributory factor in foodborne disease outbreaks and is the focus of increasing research. However, although every food business has a unique food safety culture there are relatively few published papers concerning its analysis, application and use within specific businesses. This case study has identified food safety culture shortcomings within a large food service facility suggesting there was a potentially significant food safety risk and indicates ways in which food safety could be improved and the risk reduced. The results also suggest further work is needed in the subject of food safety culture and its potential for reducing foodborne disease.

Background Previous research demonstrated the influence of food safety climate on the food safety output of food companies on an organizational (company) level. At the individual level, the relation between food safety climate and employees' food safety behavior still has to be unraveled. Therefore, the conceptual food safety culture model of De Boeck, Jacxsens, Bollaerts, and Vlerick (2015) was expanded by introducing food safety behavior (composed of food safety compliance and participation, which represent obligated food safety related activities and the achievement of additional voluntary food safety related activities), knowledge, motivation, burnout and jobstress of the individual employees in the organization. Scope and approach In the present study the relationship between food safety climate and food safety behavior was investigated. Food safety knowledge and motivation were proposed as mediators, explaining the relationship between climate and behavior. Additionally, jobstress and burnout were proposed as moderators, influencing the strength of this relationship. This conceptual model was tested through statistical analysis with data (n = 85) collected from two Belgian vegetable processing companies through self-assessment surveys. Key findings and conclusions A positive relationship between food safety climate and employees' behavior was found. Mediation analysis showed that knowledge is a partial mediator between food safety climate and compliance, participation and behavior, which means that knowledge cannot fully explain this relationship. Motivation is a partial mediator between food safety climate and compliance and behavior only. The moderation effect between jobstress and burnout was not confirmed. These results demonstrate the direct (without mediation) and indirect effect (through motivation and knowledge) of food safety climate on employees' behavior and illustrate the key role of employees' behavior and well-being for governing food safety in a company. This study suggests that human factors might impact the implementation and follow-up of a food safety management system and recommends a more human behavioral approach for the food safety management in food companies.

This study investigated the food risk perceptions of people living in the Triveneto area (Northeast Italy), a territory characterized by a particular interest in the production of quality foodstuffs, to determine what aspects people associate with food risk and to understand what beliefs underlie these perceptions. Four focus groups were conducted in the major towns of the target area (N = 45). A semi-structured interview was used that focused on beliefs about food risks, the use of information and media sources in relation to food risk, and the behaviours adopted when eating outside the home. A homogeneous view of food risk emerged among the respondents, and a common definition of risky food was identified. The concept of risk was in opposition to the quality and controllability of food, which emerged as major strategies to cope with food risks. Quality was linked to freshness and local origin, whereas controllability reflected a direct (e.g., checking labels, having a relationship with the vendor, cultivating one's own vegetable garden) or indirect (e.g., control guarantees provided by suppliers and the government) means to check the safety and quality of food. Although people seemed quite informed about food risks, a common sense of impotence with regard to one's own protection prevailed, together with a fatalistic sense of incomplete control over risk. The results identified food concerns for consumers living in this specific territory and might represent a starting point for public health authorities to increase compliance with responsible behaviours for risk mitigation and to define successful food policies for this area.

Following the 2005 E. coli O157 outbreak in the UK and the recommendations in the subsequent Public Enquiry Report in 2009, the topic of food safety culture became more prominent. In 2012, the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency (FSA) commissioned a tool that enforcement officers could use to assess ‘softer aspects’ of risk such as safety culture, attitudes and behaviours. In the present study, we assessed the awareness of and views on safety culture in the food industry among a group of industry stakeholders (Environmental Health Officers, Food and Beverage Managers, Academics). The study also examines their attitudes towards the toolkit and ways in which it could be improved (e.g., its usability). The conclusions of the paper are that whilst there is broad support for implementing safety culture in the food industry, there are also some outstanding challenges (e.g., defining food safety culture, senior management commitment and the role played by ‘micro-cultures’ within food organisations). Assessing safety culture in the food industry is a realistic possibility, but needs to take account of some of the lessons which could be learnt from other industries (e.g., healthcare, rail, oil and gas) and their experiences with safety culture.

Standards and regulations related to spirit drinks have been established by different countries and international organizations to ensure the safety and quality of spirits. Here, we introduce the principles of food safety and quality standards for alcoholic beverages and then compare the key indicators used in the distinct standards of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the European Union, the People's Republic of China, the United States, Canada, and Australia. We also discuss in detail the "maximum level" of the following main contaminants of spirit drinks: methanol, higher alcohols, ethyl carbamate, hydrocyanic acid, heavy metals, mycotoxins, phthalates, and aldehydes. Furthermore, the control measures used for potential hazards are introduced. Harmonization of the current requirements based on comprehensive scope analysis and the risk assessment approach will enhance both the trade and quality of distilled spirits. This review article provides valuable information that will enable producers, traders, governments, and researchers to increase their knowledge of spirit drink safety requirements, control measures, and research trends.

In recent years, the food safety incidents happened frequently in china, and then the problems related to food quality and safety have attracted more and more social attention. Considering the concern with regard to quality sustainability in food supply chain, many companies have developed a real time data monitoring system to ensure products quality in the supply chain network. In this paper, we proposed a food safety pre-warning system, adopting association rule mining and Internet of Things technology, to timely monitor all the detection data of the whole supply chain and automatically pre-warn. The aim of pre-warning system is to help managers in food manufacturing firm to find food safety risk in advance, and to give some decision support information to maintain the quality and safety of food products. A case study of a dairy producer was conducted, and the results showed that the proposed pre-warning system can effectively identify safety risks and accurately determine whether a warning should be issued, depending on the expert analysis when an abnormality is detected by the system. In addition, implications of the proposed approach were discussed, and suggestions for future work were outlined.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into various food safety aspects of future professional food handlers, representing different professions in the food supply chain (FSC), close to the end of their formal education. Design/methodology/approach A total of 15 focus group discussions including 94 participants were conducted. A semi-structured approach was applied to discussions about the comprehension of food safety, the responsibility for food safety, the barriers hindering food safety practices, and the food safety influence of other people. Findings Differences related to the field of study and level of education were identified. The results demonstrate the diversity of interpretations of food safety with control of biological hazards strongly emphasized. The responsibility for food safety is perceived differently by position in the FSC. Different barriers related to the working environment and personal factors were identified. Parental influence on the target population is decreased as focus is shifted to the teachers of practical classes and especially to the instructors in food enterprises. Research limitations/implications Considering the response rate and the small number of schools offering a specific study programme not all the study fields and educational levels were equally represented. Practical implications The findings could assist educators, policy makers, and food business operators in their efforts to develop educational programmes that will more effectively contribute to the safety of food. Originality/value No research thus far has focussed on students being educated as future professional food handlers.

Food safety issues have become increasingly serious in recent years, and food safety has affected life safety. With the development of the economy, people are increasingly pursuing material life, especially in food. Food safety, which is increasingly demanding, has caused frequent food safety problems due to excessive pursuit of interests, imperfect food safety, and contamination of food materials. In order to solve food safety problems, food safety risk analysis and early warning can effectively improve the quality and safety of food. This paper focuses on the problems of food safety, combined with the needs of food safety development, to study regional food safety testing risk analysis and early warning, and established a food safety early warning model through food safety standards and risk analysis. A useful attempt has been made to promote food safety in China.

This is an overview of the application of risk assessment for evaluating and managing foodborne microbiological health risks. Risk assessment comprises four steps: hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment, and risk characterization. The process provides a framework for systemic and objective evaluation of all available information pertaining to the foodborne hazard. The outcome of microbial risk assessment is an estimation of the magnitude of human health risk in terms of likelihood of exposure to a pathogenic microorganism in a food and the likelihood and impact of any adverse health effects after exposure. Characterization of the uncertainties and variability in the information used and in the risk estimate itself is part of the overall process. Risk assessment thus provides an objective scientific basis for decision making in ensuring the safety of the food supply. This approach to evaluation and management of microbial food safety risks is still in the developmental stages, but as it evolves it will facilitate the process of establishing microbiological criteria for foods in international trade and guidelines for national standards and policies. Furthermore, a detailed risk assessment can be used to identify critical gaps in our knowledge base, characterize the most important risk factors in the production-to-consumption food chain, help identify strategies for risk reduction, and provide guidance for determining priorities in public health and food safety research programs.

Safety, nutritional quality and honest representation are primary expectations of consumers with respect to their food supply. While food safety and nutrition have received much attention by public health agencies, the honest representation of food has not been among the priorities of food sanitation programs of local governments. This report summarizes findings of a survey of food representation in public eating establishments in the District of Columbia. It also outlines a three-phase program of education, consultation and enforcement to insure that the integrity of the food supply is as much a part of our food protection program as are safety and nutritional quality.

Purpose – Consumer confidence in the European food industry has been shaken by a number of recent scandals due to food fraud and accidental contamination, reminding the authors that deliberate incidents can occur. Food defence methods aim to prevent or mitigate deliberate attacks on the food supply chain but are not a legal requirement. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how proactive and reactive food defence practices can help prevent or mitigate malicious attacks on the food chain and also food fraud, food crime and food safety. The authors look at how food defence differs from food safety and how it contributes to food supply chain integrity. Design/methodology/approach – Food defence has been the focus of two different EU FP7 security projects, EDEN and SNIFFER. Food industry stakeholders participated in workshops and demonstrations on food defence and relevant technology was tested in different food production scenarios. Findings – Food industry end-users reported a lack of knowledge regarding food defence practices. They wished for further guidelines and training on risk assessment as well as access to validated test methods. Novel detection tools and methods showed promise with authentication, identification, measurement, assessment and control at multiple levels of the food supply chain prior to distribution and retail. Practical implications – The prevention of a contamination incident, prior to retail, costs less than dealing with a large foodborne disease outbreak. Food defence should therefore be integral to food supply chain integrity and not just an afterthought in the wake of an incident. Originality/value – It is argued that food defence practices have a vital role to play across the board in unintentional and intentional food contamination incidents. The application of these methods can help ensure food supply chain integrity., European Union (EU) Seventh Framework Programme projects (FP7/2007-2013): EDEN: End-User Driven Demo for CBRNe, under Grant 61 Food supply chain integrity Downloaded by UNIVERSIDAD DE BURGOS At 07:57 06 January 2017 (PT) Agreement no. 313077, and SNIFFER: Sensory devices network for food supply chain security, under Grant Agreement no. 312411.

Ensuring the safety of food served in restaurants continues to be an essential issue in the hospitality industry. An important part of the efforts to stem the outbreak of foodborne illnesses are the mandatory inspections of any entity that serves food to the public. Unfortunately, while posting food safety scores is intended to help consumers make better dining choices, interpreting these scores can often be difficult and confusing. The purpose of this study is to use information processing theory as a framework to investigate how consumers evaluate food safety inspection scores. To achieve this goal, this research provides an account of the effect of food safety concern on consumers’ attitudes toward restaurants under conditions of both positive and negative health inspection results. The results identify a moderating effect of health score in the formation of consumers’ attitudes toward restaurants. The downstream effects on expected satisfaction and behaviors are also established.

General consumer knowledge of and engagement with the production of food has declined resulting in increasing consumer uncertainty about, and sensitivity to, food risks. Emphasis is therefore placed on providing information for consumers to reduce information asymmetry regarding food risks, particularly through food labelling. This study examines the role of food labelling in influencing consumer perceptions of food risks. In-depth, 1-h interviews were conducted with 24 Australian consumers. Participants were recruited based on an a priori defined food safety risk scale, and to achieve a diversity of demographic characteristics. The methodological approach used, adaptive theory, was chosen to enable a constant interweaving of theoretical understandings and empirical data throughout the study. Participants discussed perceiving both traditional (food spoilage/microbial contamination) and modern (social issues, pesticide and 'chemical' contamination) risks as present in the food system. Food labelling was a symbol of the food system having managed traditional risks, and a tool for consumers to personally manage perceived modern risks. However, labelling also raised awareness of modern risks not previously considered. The consumer framing of risk presented demonstrates the need for more meaningful consumer engagement in policy decision making to ensure risk communication and management meet public expectations. This research innovatively identifies food labelling as both a symbol of, and a tool for, the management of perceived risks for consumers. Therefore it is imperative that food system actors ensure the authenticity and trustworthiness of all aspects of food labelling, not only those related to food safety.

Background: Food safety is a key public health issue worldwide. This study aims to characterise existing governance mechanisms - governance structures (GSs) and food safety management systems (FSMSs) - and analyse the alignment thereof in detecting food safety hazards, based on empirical evidence from Lebanon.; Results: Firm-to-firm and public baseline are the dominant FSMSs applied in a large-scale, while chain-wide FSMSs are observed only in a small-scale. Most transactions involving farmers are relational and market-based in contrast to (large-scale) processors, which opt for hierarchical GSs. Large-scale processors use a combination of FSMSs and GSs to minimise food safety hazards albeit potential increase in coordination costs; this is an important feature of modern food supply chains. The econometric analysis reveals contract period, on-farm inspection and experience having significant effects in minimising food safety hazards. However, the potential to implement farm-level FSMS is influenced by formality of the contract, herd size, trading partner choice, and experience.; Conclusion: Public baseline FSMSs appear effective in controlling food safety hazards; however, this may not be viable due to the scarcity of public resources. We suggest public policies to focus on long-lasting governance mechanisms by introducing incentive schemes and farm-level FSMSs by providing loans and education to farmers. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.; © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Background Food chains have changed dramatically due to technical and demographic changes over the last decades. Although efforts are made to ensure high quality and integrity, food-borne outbreaks and food scandals still happen to an undesired extent. Scope and approach This commentary paper aims to give insight in the current approach in the European food control and audit system, the underestimation of complexity and the role of trust in food control and auditing. Furthermore, the need for complex systems thinking in risk-based auditing is discussed and a framework to structure complex system risk-based auditing is proposed. Key findings and conclusions The current food control system seems to cause a reactive vicious cycle, which leads to more and stricter regulations and standards on every level. A new paradigm in risk-based auditing is needed that acknowledges the behaviour of complex systems to ensure trust along the food chain. The proposed framework for complex system risk-based auditing may enable a systematic analysis of audit triggers, audit goals and context characteristics suggesting multiple methods for risk analysis, as basis for the questions on when, how, what, and whom to audit.

This paper addresses the challenge of reducing food safety errors in the foodservice industry. Results of a survey of 255 fulltime food service professionals supported our proposed causal chain of impact that runs from “leader behavioral integrity for food safety” (the extent to which leaders/supervisors consistently enact and enforce food safety rules) through the proportion of food safety errors reported, through “error management” (an integrated set of practices involving error detection, correction, analysis, prevention and learning), finally to reduced food safety violations. Specifically, this study found the mediating effect of error reporting between leader behavioral integrity for food safety and error management; and the mediating effect of error management between error reporting and food safety violations. Results suggest that ongoing support and incentivizing of supervisors’ behavior may be a critical supplement to skill-based training of employees in reducing food safety errors and thus violations. The study found that high leader behavioral integrity for food safety can improve error reporting and error management leading to a reduction in the risk of foodborne illness, which is the ultimate goal of a food safety training program. It is recommended that managers serve as role models by following proper food safety practices and reporting errors themselves. A manager who consistently enacts food safety priorities and protocols conveys more clear information about positive organizational priorities for safety, provides clearer incentives for safety behaviors, models desired attitudes, and enhances employee trust and thus willingness to learn; which is critical for the success of food safety programs.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of safety participation as a mediator in the relationship between the six facets of safety management practices (i.e. management commitment, safety training, worker’s involvement, safety communication and feedback, safety rules and procedures, and safety promotion policies) and safety compliance. Design/methodology/approach A survey of 74 employees of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia was carried out. Self-reported measures were used to obtain data on workplace safety dimensions and safety behavior. The partial least square structural model analysis was used to ascertain the proposed relationships. Findings The present study found that only three dimensions of safety management practices (management commitment, safety training, and safety rules and procedures) were significantly related to safety compliance. Of these, safety participation mediated the link between management commitment and safety training and safety compliance. Research limitations/implications The small sample size may limit the generalizability of the findings. Second, the correlational nature of the study did not permit causation to be implied. However, despite these limitations, while safety performance can be theorized to trigger the establishment of safety management practices, such theoretical perspective tends to connote reactivity rather than proactivity of the decision-making process. Practical implications The study highlights the role of the voluntary behavior of employees in promoting a safe work environment. Business owners are recommended to provide safety training in which the employees are stressed on their crucial role in safety and use this knowledge to educate and convince their co-workers to work safely. Originality/value Literature indicates the lack of studies on safety research in SMEs. Furthermore, such studies are justified because SMEs are likely to have more risks of occupational accidents and injuries. More importantly, this research highlights the importance of the voluntary behaviors of employees (i.e. safety participation) in promoting a safe work environment. As SMEs tend to have limited resources to implement a comprehensive OSH management system, using the employees as the safety agents at work can be an effective way toward accomplishing safety performance.

Food workers’ health and hygiene are common pathways to foodborne disease outbreaks. Improving food system jobs is important to food safety because working conditions impact workers’ health, hygiene, and safe food handling. Stakeholders from key industries have advanced working conditions as an issue of public safety in the United States. Yet, for the food industry, stakeholder engagement with this topic is seemingly limited. To understand this lack of action, we interviewed key informants from organizations recognized for their agenda-setting role on food-worker issues. Findings suggest that participants recognize the work standards/food safety connection, yet perceived barriers limit adoption of a food safety frame, including more pressing priorities (e.g., occupational safety); poor fit with organizational strategies and mission; and questionable utility, including potential negative consequences. Using these findings, we consider how public health advocates may connect food working conditions to food and public safety and elevate it to the public policy agenda.

It is both theoretically and socially imperative to understand what drives citizens’ concerns over food safety, as outbreaks of food related health hazards have become increasingly rampant in developing countries like China. In this paper we combine recent national survey data and media reports to quantitatively examine the effects of food scandals and media exposure on food safety risk. We find that media reported food scandals are not significantly related to public concern about food safety risk, suggesting that food risk perceptions may be nationwide rather than region specific. We also find out that more educated citizens with more media exposure are more concerned about food safety risk, and the amplification effect of food scandals is more prominent among residents with higher levels of education. In contrast to our expectation, family income is not significantly related to food safety concern. We also find that females, the elderly, and urban dwellers perceive higher levels of food risk than males, youngsters, and rural residents. The government should pay more attention to public perceptions of food safety, and strengthen its risk communication capacity to mitigate media amplification effects of food safety concern. The regulatory authorities can work with other entities (e.g., food industry and NGOs) to advance food safety education to equip the public with essential knowledge to mitigate the framing and spillover effects of food scandals and rumors.

Objective:The objective of this research is to inquire about safety information from the standpoint of its usefulness to suggest the significance of the Reactive Safety Action Program, which serves to promote aviation safety culture. Background: Safety information plays an important role in operating safety programs. Each organization learns lessons from safety information collected from aviation accidents and incidents. When an accident occurs, it is only through safety investigation and a close inquiry on the cause that we can come up with an appropriate countermeasure which would contribute to preventing the recurrence of the same or similar accident. However, the usefulness of safety information produced from unsatisfactory safety investigation is insufficient. Method: This research analyzed the characteristics of aviation accidents, the differences between safety investigations and legal accident investigations in systematic and operative perspectives, and safety culture as a measure to activate reporting systems (compulsory/voluntary). Results: This research defined the investigation scope and processes of safety investigations and legal accident investigations. It also suggested factors such as just culture based on trust, non-punitiveness, confidentiality, the participation of the entire staff through the use of inclusive reporting base, ensuring the independence of the operating organization as a way to promote safety through reporting systems. Conclusion: The organization"s effort is the important aspect in obtaining exact and accurate safety information from accidents/incidents. The separate running of SIB(Safety Investigation Board) and AIB (Accident Investigation Board), the systematization of safety information reporting system, and prescribing (legislating) the composition of related organizations are some representative programs. Application: This research inquired experiences that contributed in promoting aviation safety culture in a reactive perspective, and will serve a role in spreading safety culture by enabling the use of application experiences of the aviation field in other domains.

Serious incidents in the 1970s and continuous growth of factories producing and/or using hazardous substances\ud formed the basis of a quantitative approach to risk. While discussions of risk were conducted in\ud all industrialised countries they were particularly important in The Netherlands due to space limitations\ud and short distances between industrial plants and residential areas. This article is part of a series covering\ud the history of the safety science discipline (Swuste et al., 2015; Van Gulijk et al., 2009; Swuste et al.,\ud 2010).\ud The concept risk entered the Dutch safety domain before the 1970s in relatively isolated case studies\ud and in managing flood defences in The Netherlands. Since the 1970s these case studies paved the way\ud for the development of mathematical models for quantitative risk analysis that were based on experience\ud from nuclear power plants, the process industries and reliability engineering from operations research.\ud ‘External safety’ was a focal point for these early developments in the process industries: adverse effects\ud of dangerous goods outside the factory’s property boundaries. The models were documented in standardised\ud textbooks for risk analysis in The Netherlands, the so-called ‘coloured books’. These works contributed\ud to the development of the Seveso Directive. For internal safety (taking place within property\ud boundaries) semi-quantitative approaches were developed simultaneously.\ud The models for quantitative risk analysis were deemed reliable, but the acceptability of a quantified\ud risk was another matter. Making decisions on risk relates to complex societal issues, such as ethics, stakeholder\ud perception of risks, stakeholder involvement, and politics, all of which made the decision making\ud process far from straightforward. With the introduction of the abstract concept of risk in the Dutch safety\ud science domain, the question of risk perception became important in Dutch safety research.\ud The concept risk and methods for quantitative risk analysis first entered into Dutch law in environmental\ud risk regulations. It took a while for risk to be accepted by occupational safety experts, but just before\ud the turn of the century ‘occupational risk inventory and evaluations’ or RI&E methods were introduced\ud into Dutch occupational safety legislation. This finalised the paradigm shift to risk-based safetydecision\ud making in the Dutch safety science domain. While methods for quantifying risk are now widely\ud applied and accepted, the proper use of risk perception and risk in the political decision process are still\ud being debated.

Food safety has been fervently discussed throughout the world. Priority for food safety addresses issues in enhancing food safety systems in terms of exporting countries, contribution to consumers’ health and protection and advancement on food regulations and standards. Not all food industrial companies are able to follow demands highlighted by international bodies. Many developing countries lack the resources to participate in international trade because of the difficulties in complying with the requirements of the food safety standards. The underlying reasons for this are outdated laws, lack of knowledge in terms of limited coordination between organizations handling food safety issues, under-funding of national research institutes and lack of awareness for standards and quality. In moving towards the development of standards, consumer participation to demonstrate their concern over the quality and safety of food is correspondingly on the rise. In every aspect of food production, the company is required at each step in the food production chain to ensure food safety standards are not compromised and to show compliance with regulatory and customers’ requirement. In an attempt to address the issue of compliance with international standards, this paper will set to discuss international food chain perspective including food quality assurance in production processes, hazard characteristics in the production and distribution of food and generic food quality and safety standards. The aim of this paper is to identify public and private food safety and quality standard internationally and implementation of food quality standards in three different regions. At the end of this paper, the researchers seek to highlight some significant findings on quality assurance in the food industry and its benefits to consumers globally.

Safe food is the right of every citizen of the European Union (EU). A comprehensive and dynamic framework of food and feed safety legislation has been put in place and the EU's executive arm - the European Commission - is responsible for ensuring that the EU member states apply food law consistently. Similarly, the Commission plays an important role in ensuring that imported food meets the EU's stringent food safety standards. Consumer perceptions of unsafe food tend to focus on acute outbreaks of bacterial or viral origin. In recent years there have been a number of diverse food crises associated with fraudulent activity which may (e.g. melamine in dairy products in China) or may not (e.g. the horse meat scandal in the EU) represent a genuine food safety risk. Well publicized incidents of chronic exposure to chemical contamination in the EU (e.g. dioxins in meat and mycotoxins in nuts) have required robust coordinated policy responses from the Commission. Despite the decreasing incidence of non-compliant residues of veterinary medicinal products and banned substances in animal products, EU consumers are increasingly concerned about the use of such products in food-producing animals, including in the context of the build-up of antimicrobial resistance in animals and transfer to humans. The Commission plays a key role in coordination of the EU member states' responses to such incidents, in risk management, and in preparation for emerging issues. This paper focuses on how the EU as a whole has dealt with a number of food crises, and what can be learned from past incidents. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.